Jacksonville UK Trade Mission: Retail and Brand Summit

Is Retail Dying? Where Growth Has Moved and Why. Americans spend more than $5 trillion a year at retail, but the growth has moved: digital marketplaces, retail media, foodservice occasions and adjacent non-food categories are all taking share. The summit is hosted by Acosta, founded in Jacksonville in 1927 as a family food brokerage and now a sales and marketing group of more than 60,000 people connecting America's biggest consumer brands to its retailers. Travelling with the delegation is Brian Wynne, President and CEO of Acosta Group. Leaders from American grocery, foodservice and consumer brands will sit down with their UK counterparts to discuss economic conditions, AI adoption and new operating models, as well as what is and isn't working in each market. Request a place to hear what it takes for a British brand to build inside the US market rather than export into it. Dedicated Networking Opportunity This session is followed by scheduled networking with the delegation and guests at Fulham Football Club, Craven Cottage. Sponsor: Acosta Panel 1: Is Retail Dying? Brian Wynne, President and CEO, Acosta Group John Carroll, President, Digital Commerce, Acosta Group Tim Lowe, President and CEO, Lowes Foods Moderator: TBC Panel 2: Power of Regions: Manchesterism, Devolution and Partnerships Wayne Jones OBE, Chair, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Mayor Donna Deegan, Mayor of Jacksonville Marco Forgione, Director General, Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade Nicole Brittain, President, Europe, Acosta About Jacksonville's 2026 Trade Mission Jacksonville, Florida brings its annual trade and investment mission to London from Monday 12 to Sunday 18 October 2026. It is led by Donna Deegan, Mayor of Jacksonville, joined by Shad Khan, owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham Football Club, and more than 50 business and civic leaders from the region. Jacksonville is ranked the #3 large US city for economic growth. Florida has no personal income tax, leads the US in net business relocations, and saw some 698,000 new businesses formed in 2025, more than any other state; Jacksonville is where much of it lands. The city has been called the Wall Street of the South: FIS, Fidelity National Financial and GuideWell are headquartered there, and global banks including Bank of America, Citi and Deutsche Bank run major operations in the city. The UK connection is already working. The UK and Florida signed their trade and economic cooperation agreement in Jacksonville in November 2023, and Jacksonville's City Council holds a Memorandum of Friendship with the City of London. JAX Hub, the city's fintech innovation programme, is accepting applications from UK companies for its 2026 cohort. The mission exists to help UK companies succeed in US markets, with summits across finance and fintech, defence, aerospace and space technology, medical services and medtech, construction and real estate, retail and consumer brands, legal services and lawtech, AI and cyber security. Each pairs Jacksonville decision-makers with their UK counterparts. JAXUSA Partnership, the city's economic development agency, travels with the delegation and advises UK companies on entering the market.